İsa Bey Mosque, 14th-century mosque in Selçuk, Turkey
İsa Bey Mosque is a 14th-century stone structure featuring two main entrances adorned with carved stone decorations and geometric patterns on its eastern and western sides. The building contains a prayer hall with columns, vaulted spaces, and asymmetrically placed domes and windows.
Built in 1374 by architect Ali ibn Mushimish al-Damishki, the mosque marks a transition between Seljuk and early Ottoman architectural styles. Its construction occurred during a period when the region was contested by different powers.
The prayer hall incorporates columns salvaged from ancient Ephesus, showing how Islamic builders reused materials from earlier civilizations in their sacred spaces. This layering of materials reflects how different periods of settlement shaped local architecture.
The mosque is open daily from sunrise to sunset and maintains separate prayer areas for men and women. Visitors should dress respectfully and remove their shoes before entering the main prayer hall.
The structure deliberately breaks from Islamic tradition with asymmetrical placement of windows, doors, and domes throughout the design. This unconventional choice contrasts sharply with the ordered symmetry typically expected in religious buildings of this period.
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